This entire episode is dedicated the Iron Man Match between Prince Puma and Johnny Mundo for the Lucha Underground Championship. The story behind this bout is that of Mundo trying over & over to win the belt and find success in LU yet he could never do it. Just like he could never defeat Prince Puma or Alberto El Patron. The frustration led to Mundo snapping and throwing Alberto through a window a few weeks ago thus eliminating him as a contender to the LU Title. Dario Cueto granted Mundo this shot at the title and many think that with his new attitude, Mundo may capitalize and finally win the belt. He's got nearly an hour to do so which is as good of an opportunity as any. It's an Anything Goes Iron Man Match and it's now!
1) Prince Puma (c) vs. Johnny Mundo - Iron Man Match for the Lucha Underground Championship
The two start off with alot of good chain wrestling on the mat as well as some fast paced offense using the ropes. Puma rolls to the outside after being momentarily outdone and Mundo goes for the first dive of the evening. CORKSCREW PLANCHA, PUMA MOVES, MUNDO LANDS ON HIS FEET!! Puma slides back in the ring and NAILS A CORKSCREW PLANCHA OF HIS OWN! That was the first awesome exchange of the night. Puma gains control and hits a roll up variation for a quick three count to get the first fall of the match. Mundo would soon return the favor by using the ropes to keep Puma down for the count. Despite this being a cheap pinfall, Mundo maintained control afterwards by starting to work over the arm of Puma. In the midst of this, Puma nails Mundo with a running ace crusher out of nowhere. Mundo & Puma end up brawling to the outside after headbutting each other on the top turnbuckle. A wooden box gets pulled out from under the ring and the two luchadors struggle for the advantage. Puma ends up with it and MICHINOKU DRIVER THROUGH THE WOODEN BOX ON THE FLOOR!! Mundo grabs a crowbar from within the box as he lay in the remnants of hit and nails Puma with it in the leg which allows him time to recover. Mundo gets to his feet and CROWBAR SHOT TO THE HEAD! OH MY THAT WAS BRUTAL! This allows Mundo to get the third fall and go up by two as he rolls Puma back in the ring and covers him for the three count. Mundo ends up going up by two more falls by nailing his signature moves including the twisting split leg moonsault. After this, he continues dominate and targets the head/neck of Puma furthermore. ROPE ASSISTED NECK BREAKER ON THE RING APRONNNN! We head to commercial and as we return, the battle takes an even more vicious turn at this point as Mundo brings a ladder out and nails Puma in the head with it. Puma is beyond dazed at this point. Mundo sets up two tables below one of the balconies as Puma tries to stir. They end up climbing the ladder into the balcony which made for some breathtaking moments as you waited for what would happen next. It was a great teaser sequence. The rivals find themselves brawling in the crowd and Puma gains the advantage with a suplex on the floor of the balcony. Puma comes down and sets up two more tables so now it's two tables stacked upon two tables. Puma climbs back up to the edge of the balcoy and attempts to suplex Mundo off it through the four tables. Mundo counters and SUPERKICK THAT SENDS PUMA FLYING OFF THE BALCONY TO THE FLOOR! Mundo channels his inner spiderman and uses the ladder to glide over to the other side of the balcony and climb up on the stage where the band usually plays. It's promo time apparently as Johnny grabs the mic and brags about his 4-1 lead and tells the band to play as he lets the clock run. Puma begins crawling towards the ladder that's leaned up against the stage and Mundo tries to hit him with a piece of lumber. Puma grabs the 2x4 and nails Mundo with it in the head. That was BRUTAL. Possibly even more brutal than the crowbar shot Mundo delivered to Puma early on. They are both up on the stage now and GUITAR SHOT TO THE HEAD OF MUNDO! It looks like Mundo is bleeding and bit now. Both men are stunned and exhausted. Out of nowhere, PUMA SPEARS MUNDO OFF IT THROUGH ALL FOUR TABLES ON THE FLOOR! HOLY SHIT!! That was AMAZING. Both men lay in what's left of the four tables as Puma begins to stir. Mundo's face is scraped up and he's bleeding from the forehead. Puma eventually manages to roll Mundo back in the ring and gets a pinfall. He's still down 4-2 however. Puma continues the assault to try and catch up. He lefts up Mundo, BENADRYLAAAAA! Mundo is still staggering on his feet! Puma lefts him up and PLANTS him on his head with one of his driver variations for a three count. It's now 4-3 and Mundo realizes it and begins to flee. Puma starts chasing him and Mundo realizes this is the strategy he needs to use. Mundo is standing at the top of the bleachers/stands when he's nailed from behind. IT'S ALBERTO EL PATRON! The crowd erupts and I marked out more than I ever thought I would for the former Alberto Del Rio. He throws Mundo down the stairs forcing him to get back in the ring. Mundo still tries to get away and DDT ON THE FLOOR FROM PATRON!! He throws Mundo back in the ring. Puma ends up getting a fall on Mundo as El Patron gets on the mic. El Patron cuts a good promo telling Mundo that things are far from over between them and that he's gonna kick his ass. He then says he's coming for the LU title regardless of who wins and tells Puma to "Be ready" if he wins tonight. El Patron leaves and there's only a few minutes left with things tied up at 4-4. It's an epic closing sequence with the commentary being better than ever and the atmosphere being electric due to the high stakes. A series of roll ups takes place. Mundo rolls up Puma. Puma kicks out. Mundo bounces off the ropes, SHINING WIZARD FOR A NEARFALL! This exchange saw a standing Spanish fly from Mundo as well which was a sight to see. There's only 20 seconds left as Puma recovers and dropkicks Mundo to the ground, he's in place for a highflying move from Puma. Puma climbs the ropes - 630 SENTON!! 1..2..3 - PUMA GOES UP 5-4 WITH ONLY A FEW SECONDS TO GO! The time expires and Prince Puma wins an epic match!
Wow, this was phenomenal. Puma & Mundo both stated on Twitter that this was one of their best matches ever and I tend to agree. This was another Lucha Underground classic and one of their best matches of the year. Everything was built up well. All the spots, the big return, Puma's comeback, the final sequence. Just an awesome match that's well worth going out of your way to see.
Match rating - ****1/2
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